Ernest Hemingway

No writer in history has been more influential than Hemingway. I have chosen to design this page about Hemingway because I have read some of his works while I attended middle school, and enjoyed the way that he described the scene at hand. I also chose Hemingway because he is the most imitated American writer, and he has rejuvenated the "art of fiction." Hemingway made two other major contributions to American literature. These contributions were envisioning life as a battlefield and designed the "Hemingway hero." When I had the option of choosing an American writer to dedicate a web page to, I knew Hemingway would be my topic.

Mr. Brady, my English teacher in middle school, introduced modern literature to us as part of his class. We read several Hemingway stories. All of the autobiographical stories described real events that occurred while he was in World War II. The works that we read were very graphic. I liked his these stories because they showed reality, that war is gruesome and gothic, and that life is not always happy and fun. His works also made me think about what some people had to go through so that our country and the world could be free. Even though his short stories were not pretty and beautiful, they had meaning, and he had a reason for writing them other than to tell a story.

Ernest Hemingway is a very renowned writer. He is "probably the most widely imitated American writer" (651). Many of his styles can be found in other writers’ works. Also "few writers of our time have escaped a confrontation with him [or] his influences" (651). The "art of fiction" is one of the greatest aspects of Hemingway’s short stories. The "art" has "gained new life from techniques he perfected" (651). Hemingway created the iceberg technique. This technique is like an iceberg, it only shows a little on the surface, but you must look below the surface and deeper into the story in order to see most of the meaning. Hemingway used a "deceptively simple rhythmic prose" (651). This style is apt to portray moments of action and includes rapid dialogue from his characters (pg. 651). Hemingway said that his style was "talk direct; few adjectives and to use strong nouns and verbs" (651). These two attributes combine to make Ernest Hemingway an internationally renowned writer.

Finally, Ernest Hemingway made two other major contributions to American literature. Firstly, he envisioned life as a battlefield where everyone is eventually wounded. Also he saw that life had "almost formal moves" (651). Secondly, he created the "Hemingway hero." The "Hemingway hero" is "a man for whom it is a point of honor to suffer with grace and dignity" (651). Hemingway’s hero "though sensing that defeat is inevitable, plays the game well" (651). Hemingway’s contributions, life being a battlefield and the "Hemingway hero", were very important to future writers around the world.